1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for grooming the hair, such as in applying a permanent wave to human hair, and particularly to an exceptionally light weight permanent wave rod that does not impose unnatural tension on the hair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A preliminary patentability and novelty search in connection with this invention has revealed the existence of the following six U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ 4,844,103 4,648,414 4,572,221 4,540,006 2,061,817 2,105,371 ______________________________________
Other patents that are known to exist that relate to devices for grooming hair include the following U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ 182,088 476,824 731,861 844,823 2,645,233 2,874,706 3,507,291 3,955,064 4,239,050 ______________________________________
Foreign patents known to exist include Norwegian Patent 74440; British Patent 821,813 and German Patent 3,713,280. The latter group of U.S. Patents and the foreign patents are believed to pertain primarily to devices for temporarily curling the hair as distinguished from devices applied for effecting a permanent wave to human hair.
In applying a permanent wave to human hair, there are many different procedures followed by hairdressers, and there are many different appliances and permanent wave solutions that are used to assist in providing to the human hair the type of permanent wave desired by the customer. Despite the improvements in appliances and solutions, hairdressing remains very much an art dependent upon the skill of the operator. A procedure that may generally be followed is described below, but it should be understood that the procedural description that follows is not inclusive of all procedures or methods used by various hairdressers, but are intended to be indicative only of general procedures or steps that may be followed by a hairdresser. Those steps include initially washing the hair, followed by towel drying the hair to remove excess water while still leaving the hair wet, after which segments of the wet hair in the form of tresses are separated from the main body of the hair, and tressend paper and permanent wave rods are applied to each tress until the full length of the tress is wound on the rod, this being generally coincident with the permanent wave rod abutting the scalp. By some appropriate means, the permanent wave rod and tress are locked together so that the hair tress does not unravel from the rod. This procedure is continued until all of the hair, frequently divided into as many as approximately 48-60 separate tresses, is wound on permanent wave rods. An appropriate permanent wave solution is then quickly applied to each individual tress that is now supported on a permanent wave rod, and the solution is permitted to remain on the curled hair for a finite time usually specified by the manufacturer of the solution, during which time heat may (or may not) be applied to the tresses that have been individually wrapped on the supporting permanent wave rods. It should be understood of course that the entire head of hair is segmented into separate tresses, each of which is individually wound on a separate permanent wave rod. After the permanent wave solution has acted on the hair for the interval of time specified by the manufacturer to effect setting of the curled hair on the permanent wave rod, the hairdresser may conduct a test by undoing one of the tresses and observing whether the tress falls in a smooth spiral, indicative of the degree to which the hair has been set by the permanent wave solution. It should be noted that modern permanent wave solutions are usually "timed" solutions, i.e., the solutions are "active" for a prescribed interval, after which the chemical activity ceases. Thus, present day modern permanent wave solutions obviate the need for a test as described above.
Following the prescribed time interval to properly set the hair, the permanent wave solution is then rinsed off and the head of hair, with the permanent wave rods still attached, is towel dried by patting the head gently to absorb as much of the moisture as possible. Then, a neutralizing solution is applied to the hair for approximately five minutes, after which the permanent wave rods are removed from the head of hair. The hair is then rinsed again with water for approximately five minutes to remove all vestiges of permanent wave solution or neutralizing solution that might have remained in the hair. Following the rinse, the hair is set or styled to suit the customer.
Referring to the patents listed in the first group noted above, it is noted that all of these patents utilize some type of elongated body about which the hair tress may be wrapped or spirally wound, with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 2,105,371. The method taught by these patents to retain the straight permanent wave rod or curling rod in a hair-holding position, with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 2,105,371, is a bendable wire rod embedded in the generally cylindrical permanent wave rod, so that when the ends of the cylindrical permanent wave rod are brought into close proximity, the embedded wire bends and in the absence of a force exerted on the bent rod to straighten it, it retains its bent position to thereby retain the curled hair on the permanent wave rod. U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,221 adds an embellishment to this construction in that the elongated permanent wave rod or curling rod is hollow and there is disposed therewithin an elongated coiled spring which prevents the hollow tube from collapsing when bent, and a cap is provided to retain the two ends in close proximity as illustrated in the drawings of that patent. Another one of the advantages touted by this patent is the fact that the cylindrical rod may be heated by dropping the open end over a heating post.
One of the disadvantages of these structures that include a bendable metallic element within the permanent wave rod is that upon repeated use, work hardening of the metal rod occurs, and eventually the metallic bendable rod breaks, thus destroying the usefulness of the permanent wave or curling rod. Accordingly, one of the important objects of the present invention is the provision of an extremely light weight permanent wave rod that is devoid of any type of embedded metallic and bendable rod, yet incorporates means for retaining opposed ends engaged in close proximity and selectively disengageable.
Another disadvantage of permanent wave rods that include bendable metallic elements as cores thereof is the likelihood of permanent wave or other hair care solutions penetrating the outer cylindrical member, which is frequently a sponge rubber or synthetic resinous material, thus causing corrosion to develop on the metallic rod. Accordingly, another object of the present invention is the provision of a permanent wave rod that is fabricated from materials that are extremely light and which are impenetrable by permanent wave solutions and other hair care products, and have nothing embedded within them.
In more modern times, such as the present, permanent wave rods have been formed from elongated plastic tubes, either hollow or solid, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 2B, with means associated with opposite ends to retain the opposite ends in close proximity or in virtual engagement one with the other when so desired. One of the disadvantages that has been experienced with such rods is that they are heavy, and they are extremely slippery when coated with solutions of the type that are generally used for a permanent wave solutions or for curling the hair. The weight factor is an important factor because when applied to a tress of hair and the ends of the plastic tube or rod are brought together and locked, the weight of the rod imposes tension on the hair and creates an uncomfortable feeling in the scalp of the customer.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, such a prior art permanent wave rod that is approximately 12 inches long weighs a full one-half ounce. Since it is not unusual to apply as many as forty-eight to sixty to a full head of hair, it will be understood that just the cumulative weight of the rods themselves, apart from the permanent wave solution that is applied to them after the hair has been curled on the rods, amounts to approximately 24-30 ounces or 1.5 to 1.875 pounds of weight that is suspended on the hair and head.
With respect to the prior art permanent wave rod illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such a rod having a length of approximately nine and one-half inches, weighs a full ounce, thus resulting in a cumulative weight of forty-eight to sixty ounces or approximately 3.0 to 3.75 pounds. The suspension of so much weight on the hair is uncomfortable to the customer, and also imposes unwanted tension on the scalp and on the hair itself. Accordingly, a still further object of the invention is the provision of a permanent wave rod that is so light in weight that a set of forty-eight weighs only about 3 ounces.
The weight of prior art permanent wave rods such as illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 2B also creates the problem of orientation of the permanent wave rods after the ends have been joined. Because of the weight of the rods, gravity pulls the rods downwardly, thus causing the closed permanent wave rods to hang pendulum-like and to impose tension on the hair and scalp.
Another characteristic that has been noted of the heavy prior art rods shown is that even if it is desired to retain a tress of hair curled about a vertical axis, for instance, the weight of the prior art permanent wave rods, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 2B, impose so much weight on the curled tress of hair that the axis of rotation of the curled hair automatically shifts to a horizontal or near horizontal attitude by virtue of the slipperiousness of the solution-coated rod and the tension imposed on the hair by the weight of the permanent wave rod. This effects the way in which the curled tress will lie when the permanent wave rod is removed, thus reducing the amount of control that the hairdresser has on the hair and, consequently, on the ultimate appearance achieved. Accordingly, another object of the present invention is the provision of a permanent wave rod so light in weight that the hair tresses may be curled about an axis extending in any selected direction with the full expectation that the axis of the hair curl will remain extending in the direction in which it is set by the hairdresser, thus providing greater control in the appearance of the hair when the permanent wave rods are removed by the hairdresser.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.